Love and Neckties - Lacey Black Page 0,23

the hell I managed to get married in the last ten hours and barely remember it.

“Free?”

I slowly raise my head to face my best friend. Sure, Harper looks like she’s seen a ghost, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief, but it’s not really her I’m focusing on right now. No, my eyes are riveted to the man standing beside her. He’s wearing a towel and nothing else. His hair is in complete disarray, a look I’m definitely not used to seeing, yet turned on by that image all the same. It’s also the first time I’ve noticed the length of his hair. It’s definitely a little longer than usual, like he missed a cut or something. His jaw hangs as low as his sister’s as he stares back at me with big distressed eyes.

Samuel.

I fucking married Samuel Grayson last night.

Or this morning.

Whatever. Semantics.

His eyes drop as he stares at…my chest. I pull up the blanket, the starch white comforter that’s slightly tangled around my legs. “Holy shitballs,” I mumble, falling back onto the pillow, my brain jarring and my vision blurring.

“Holy shitballs is right!” Harper hollers, completely inside my hotel room now.

“Can you quiet the noise a little, please?” I ask, my brain trying to crawl from my skull.

“Did you two… Are you… Oh my God, Samuel, what is that on your finger?” she bellows, trying to keep her voice down but failing miserably, as she points at his hand.

I glance up and watch as he tries to hide his left hand behind his back, but I already know what she’s referring to. I put that ring there. I have no clue how we were able to stand up straight, let alone long enough to speak words and follow tasks. Yet, we did it. Beautifully.

Suddenly, my best friend starts laughing. She throws her head back and lets loose a full-body laugh that has her eyes leaking water. “What’s so funny?” Samuel mumbles, trying to process her sudden shift in personality.

“I can’t believe you two got married! I mean, I honestly knew this day was coming, but I never thought it’d be this soon. I thought for sure we had a few more years before you two realized you were secretly in love and pining for each other.”

Samuel scoffs and stutters. “I’m not…we’re not in…love. Far from it.”

Harper snorts. “Right,” she replies, pushing the long strands of red hair that fell from her face during her giggle-fest. “Anyway, I should let the newlyweds get back to it. I’ll make an excuse for the brunch, but Free, you should probably make sure you’re down at the spa at three, and Samuel, you’re meeting in Mom’s suite at five.”

My lips don’t seem to want to work. I can’t believe how blasé she is about this entire thing, like it’s totally natural for her brother and her best friend to marry in Las Vegas mere hours before her own wedding.

She waves her hand. “It’s fine.”

“What?”

“You said that out loud, silly. It’s totally fine. If it were anyone else, I might be a little perturbed, but not you and Samuel.” She shrugs. “You two were meant to be together, and I’m happy for you. Though, I guess I’m a little ticked I didn’t get to stand up beside you.”

Realization sets in.

I got married. Without my best friend. Without the only person who’s stood by my side through life’s many ups and downs. And boy have there been a lot of downs. My childhood which was a tad bit unusual than most, moving to Rockland Falls to live with my grandma, growing up and always feeling, well, different. Boys were always curious, which is why they dated me, but they always ended with disappointment.

“We’re not married, Harper.” Great, Samuel finally finds his voice.

“Actually, we are,” I mumble, wishing I could just crawl back under the covers and wake up in someone else’s life.

“I’m going to go downstairs. If you guys decide to join us, brunch is in the restaurant,” Harper adds with a smile as she heads toward the door.

“Well, we’ll just get it annulled,” he states to me, as if he isn’t standing in front of me wearing nothing but a towel and a scowl on his face.

Harper snorts as she reaches the door. “Uhh, I don’t think you can do that.”

“Why not?” he asks, incredulously.

I follow her eyes as they settle on the nightstand beside the bed. “Well, it looks like this marriage was already consummated. Twice.” Her laughter spills into the hotel